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Saturday, January 17, 2009
So … seen any good movies lately?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Went to see “The Wrestler” last night. Good but not great. Mickey Rourke sure has changed since the days of “Diner.” A lot of himself in that character, I suspect.
For the cinephiles out there, what are the five Best Movie nominees, and which should take home the Oscar?
I haven’t seen it yet, but “Milk” would get a lot of support for Best Movie from those in our household who have…
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Israel wants to end war; Hamas refuses
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“With only four days remaining until the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama - a date widely regarded by Israeli analysts as the cut-off date for Israel’s Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in Gaza, the prospects for a mutually agreed ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist terror group seemed slimmer than earlier in the week,” the Jerusalem Post reports.
However, with Hamas refusing to make concessions, Israel finds itself in the strange position of trying to end the war unilaterally, meaning Hamas will still be free to fire rockets into Israel (15 rockets were reported fired into Israel from Gaza on Friday). Under those conditions, it’s hard to call this a victory for the IDF.
“The cabinet will hold a vote on Saturday evening to decide whether to enact a unilateral cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The decision would mean Israel has put an end to the three-week-long Operation Cast Lead without an agreement with Hamas, relying instead on the support of the United States and Egypt in battling arms smuggling into Gaza.
A government source emphasized that there has been great progress with Egypt in reaching an agreement on fighting arms smuggling. The deal would require the combined use of technological measures on the border between Gaza and Egypt, operations against smugglers in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and the use of international experts to identify smuggling tunnels on the border.”
In an editorial, Haaretz endorses ending the war, and suggests that its length has been a mistake:
“Three weeks following the start of Operation Cast Lead, and at least one week too late - it should be brought to an immediate end
This is the time to put the operation aside…. More importantly, disease, poverty and unemployment are the fertilizer in the greenhouse that grows the desperation and the radicalism that brought Hamas to power. Israel is the one that will reap the hatred and fear that Operation Cast Lead will sow in the hearts of the children of Gaza. These are the neighbors with whom Israel will have to reach a peace agreement and live next to for generations to come.”
And so the cycle continues….
